Page 34 of King Among the Dead

“You can fold those towels,” she said, nodding toward a basket piled with hot, fresh-smelling towels right out of the dryer.

Rose moved the basket over to the counter and got started.

“Did you stay up all night?” Kay asked.

“Yes.” A huge, spontaneous yawn proved her point.

Rose expected another dig of some sort, a chiding remark about needing to keep her strength up. But instead, Kay paused a moment, and then said, “Did he wake up at all?”

“Once. Right after you left.” Her skin prickled at the memory. “He was pretty out of it, but he…”

“He what?”

She debated sharing, but finally decided that Kay already knew more about Beck than she herself did. And she was curious. “He was upset. More upset than I’ve ever seen him.”

“Delirium will do that to a person.”

“Hewasfighting Castor’s people, I think. He said his name.”

“I thought so.”

“He said they had a conduit,” Rose said, as mildly as she could manage, wondering what sort of reaction she’d get.

Kay froze, the edges of a sheet held up at eye level. A heartbeat passed; two. Then she resumed folding as if nothing had happened. Voice deceptively casual: “There haven’t been any conduits around in years. Not since before you were born.”

“None?”

“Nope.”

“But we can’tknowthere haven’t been.”

Kay gave a hollow chuckle. “What, you hoping there are?”

“No.” She’d seen the documentaries in school, and heard stories – probably warped and inflated after passing through so many tellers. “He must have been having a nightmare.”

“Or a flashback,” Kay muttered.

“He saw one? In person?”

“Yes.” She didn’t offer any further explanation, stowing her folded sheet and reaching for another.

Rose didn’t press; she could feel a new tension radiating off her, a worry, and, even, a fear.

After a few minutes of silence, Kay let out a breath. “Whew, this is killing my back. Come on and we’ll take this into the parlor to fold.”

“That’s a good idea.”

It was. The couch was deep, and comfy, and Kay put on one of her favorite talk shows – today the host was doling out paternity test results while the audience cheered and booed. Probably chairs would be brandished like weapons at some point.

Rose folded towels, and her eyelids started to flag.One more, she thought, fitting two corners together, fighting a yawn.

She woke with a start, frustrated with herself – and grudgingly had to hand it to Kay. She’d planned this, surely.

Rose lay on her side, feet drawn up onto the sofa, a blanket draped over her. The clean laundry and the baskets were gone; the TV still played, an old movie with the volume turned way down low. The lamps were on, and the window was dark; she could hear the rain, and a distant rumble of thunder. She’d been asleep for hours, obviously, and though she felt an instant jump of worry for Beck, and a sense that she’d abandoned him or missed something, she did feel refreshed. The sleep had been necessary and restorative.

She stretched her back with satisfying pops, and went to find Kay and see if she could help with dinner.

The kitchen was cold, though, the lamps turned down.

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